The new and improved Cole Turner
by inchacha
Summary: Cole takes a shocking decision at the end of A withc's tale. from that moment on, his response to the Charmed Ones' requests is no. This is his new life. None of the characters are mine except the ones from my imagination.
1. Chapter 1

**The new improved Cole Turner**

**Chapter 1**

Cole turned his back to Paige and took a deep breath. He couldn't believe it! Phoebe still loved him, after all this time. She had denied it over and over since his return but now he had the proof that she was lying.

He didn't know how to feel about that. A few days ago, he would have been thrilled to learn this news. But now, he took the time to think, really think things through with his head and not his heart for once. She loved him but still she refused to act on it. She didn't want anything to do with him.

He analyzed the past two years and the ups and downs of his relationship with Phoebe. No matter how different you looked at things, it always came down to one thing: heartbreak. Overall, he realized that the relationship was one-sided however much she said she loved him.

It was always him that took the most risks, fought hard for them to be together. Cole always had to fight his origins and everything he knew and was and it was never enough for Phoebe and her family. The moment he made a little mistake, he was immediately deemed evil and shunned out of their lives. It was as if they just waited for it to happen so that they could prove how right they were and reject him.

When things got rough, he was the one that had to go to the trouble of convincing her to give their love a chance. He had lost everything he had and all because he was willing to change for her.

He should have learned his lesson by now. He would never be good enough for the mighty Charmed Ones: once a demon, always a demon. He could see it now. At the first mistake, he was evil but when they needed him to save their lives, it didn't seem to matter.

Piper and Paige had always viewed Cole's love for Phoebe as a bad thing for their family but when she was in trouble, they ran to him and used his feelings to their advantage. Phoebe's in danger: oh yah, Cole loves her, he'll save her like always! Well, that was going to stop now!

Once he was calm enough and had managed to gather his bearings, Cole turned to face Paige again. It had only taken him a few seconds to come to the realization but it had felt like hours to him.

He looked at Paige's hopeful face and faced her head on. "No."

Her face fell and she frowned in confusion. "What? Look, I don't know what you're on about but we don't have time. Phoebe needs us now. She needs _you_!"

Cole looked at her almost amused. "Don't you find it ironic that you try to kill me at every occasion because I'm evil and the moment you and your sisters are in trouble, you run to me for help?"

Paige shook her head to chase away all the resentment and insults that were on the tip of her tongue. "I know that Phoebe loves you."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I love Phoebe and Phoebe loves me. But you know what? Love is not enough. Her words, not mine. So, you better find a better argument than that."

"What do you need an argument for? I know you would do anything to keep her safe."

"You see, there it is! You always shove my love for her in my face when you want me to help her." Paige jumped at the outburst. "You despise me! I am and always will be evil in your eyes. And here you are, asking me to help save your sister. Do you know where that got me the last time? I became possessed by the Source of all evil after saving you and you did nothing to help me. No, the solution for you was to vanquish me, no questions asked!"

"Vanquishing demons is our job, what did you expect us to do?"

Cole looked at her incredulously. "Did one of you even wonder how and why I became the Source?" Her silence was enough answer for him. "That's what I thought. No, for you I became the Source because I was hungry for power. You'd been waiting for months for a reason to vanquish me and you got it so you jumped at the occasion. I am evil right? Well evil doesn't come to witches' help."

Paige kept her gaze on the floor. She had never tried to hide her dislike of the half demon before and she wasn't going to start now. He could justify himself all he wanted but she knew the truth.

In the meantime, Cole had finished pulling his briefcase in order. "If it hadn't been for me, you would be dead even before coming to know your sisters but that didn't and doesn't matter to you. No matter how many times I saved your sorry asses, I was and would still be a demon. That's all that's ever mattered to you. So this demon is telling you no. I won't help you save your sister just so you lot can find a way to kill me again. You're the Charmed Ones, you'll find a way to save her, like you always do."

"How do you want us to do that when you're the one responsible for her condition?"

"Oh, I'm responsible for Phoebe suffering am I? There's nothing new there. You should really change your mantra, Paige. It's getting old."

"It's true! If you hadn't tried to kill us, she wouldn't be where she is."

"You lot never learn from your mistakes. Burying your emotions has a rather destructive effect on witches, Phoebe already knows that. I'll say for once it's her turn to be in trouble because of her love for me and not the other way around. I already had my fare share of it and I'm done!"

"You can't do this Cole!"

"Oh you watch me. I should really thank you, you know? I was about to leave town so that Phoebe could be in peace but now I'm not going to. Why should I be the one to leave?" Paige's eyes popped out like saucers at that. "I have a great job here and I'm not going to drop it to give you the satisfaction. Contrary to your belief, I have a life that doesn't include you."

He took his briefcase in one hand and made his way out. "I don't ever want to have anything to do with any of you. The next time you come in my home uninvited, you'll regret it."

With that, Cole left the penthouse and a surprised and desperate Paige behind. She couldn't believe the son of the bitch refused to help Phoebe! With nothing else to do, Paige orbed to the manor. She had work to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As soon as she appeared in the attic, Paige called to Piper.

The eldest Charmed One got there in moments, wondering what had gotten her baby sister so agitated. She too had had a rough moment that day. She had had to deal with the fear of having to leave her baby motherless at a young age like her mother had done with her and her sisters. She was lucky to have her wonderful husband who had helped her get through it. The man in question was hot on her heels.

"What is it, Paige?" Piper frowned at her as she turned the pages of the Book of Shadows frantically.

"He refused!"

"Paige, you have to calm down. Who refused what?

Paige dropped her hands in frustration. "Cole!" At their inquisitive looks, she went on. "He refused to come to Phoebe's help!"

The other two shared shocked looks. "What do you mean he refused, that's not possible?"

The youngest Charmed One went back to the Book. "I'm telling you Piper, he told me to my face that he wasn't going to lift a finger to help!"

Leo frowned. "That's strange. Even when they were separated or angry at each other Cole has never refused to help Phoebe."

"Well, there's a first time for everything then."

At the sarcastic come back, Piper studied her sister a moment. "What did you tell him, Paige?"

"Nothing! I just explained the situation to him and how urgent it was. He still shot me down with some ridiculous speech about how we take advantage of him."

"That's new."

"Well now we have to find a way to save Phoebe. We can't leave her to spend another day in the ocean."

Piper took charge. "Ok everyone, there's no need to panic. We already know that Phoebe became a mermaid to escape her feelings. So, the solution is to get her to admit her love for Cole and deal with it."

"The bastard didn't even care that she still loved him." Though she had only muttered the words, the other two still heard her.

"What did you say, Paige?"

"Nothing. It's just that I cast a spell on Cole to get him to feel what Phoebe was feeling and still he didn't care."

"Maybe that's part of the solution."

All eyes turned to the only man in the room. "What do you mean?"

"Think, Piper. If the spell could bare Phoebe's heart to Cole then maybe you could do the same for Phoebe."

Paige bobbed her head up and down. "That should actually work."

Piper agreed with a thoughtful look. "Yeah. Once she listens to her own heart she won't be able to deny it to us anymore."

"Ok. We have the solution. Now we just have to find our missing sister."

* * *

Two hours after leaving his home, Cole found himself back in his office, putting everything in order. Standing up to Paige had been harder than he had thought, having always been driven by the need to come to Phoebe's rescue, but there was no way he was coming on his words. It was high time he took his life into his own hands and get over the Halliwells.

He looked over the only papers left on his desk. The changes were going to start right now. He took the papers and looked them over one last time. With a pen in hand, he signed his name where it was needed and once done, put the pen down. He put them in an envelope and sealed it. It was symbolic he supposed: he was not only sealing his marriage but his past life too. Cole was a new man. He called for his secretary and asked her to send the divorce papers to the courthouse.

It was official now, no more Halliwells and no more worrying about Phoebe and what she thought of him and his actions. He didn't have to answer to anyone but himself. She wasn't his responsibility anymore and there was no way he was going to let any of them suck him back into their life and all their tragedies.

He got up from his chair and took every file he'd be needing for the next few days. He had a plan to put into action and for that, he'd need some privacy and he couldn't have it at the office

He knew it was cutting it close, taking days off after having been missing for so long but he had argued his case. He needed time to recuperate and working home would help a great deal. He would keep in touch with the office and come in when necessary.

Cole was making his way through the underground parking lot to his car when he came to a strange sight: a young girl was cowering into a corner, about to get attacked by several demons. He didn't even think, he went to the scene and vanquished the demons without any difficulty. It wasn't surprising really, seeing as they weren't that powerful.

He turned to the girl who was still cowering on the floor and eying him with big green eyes. "Are you ok?" She didn't respond, still in shock. When he extended a hand to help her up, she burrowed herself further back into the wall in fright.

"I won't hurt you. Come on, take my hand." He made sure to look her in the eyes, never blinking. Slowly, she came out of her position and took the proffered hand.

Once she was up, Cole took the time to really study the girl. She was really young. She couldn't be older than sixteen and her clothes looked ragged, torn and dirty. He could only imagine what she must have gone through to find herself in this situation.

Having recognized the demons that had tried to kill her, he was sure that her powers must have had something to do with it for there was no doubt that she was a witch. Collector demons didn't attack anybody and they were relentless when it came to power. She was young and defenseless and they had wanted to collect her powers and he would bet that it wasn't the first time they had tried.

Cole didn't know why but he felt a strong urge to help her. Maybe it was because he knew how it felt to be persecuted and on the run for a long time but he simply had to take her under his wings.

He gave her a small smile when he saw her fidgeting and wringing her hands together. "Are you alright?" She nodded, meeting his gaze briefly before returning it to the ground. "Do you want me to call someone, your parents maybe?"

She shook her head, more vigorously this time. "I don't have parents." Her voice was small and shy.

Cole nodded. He had guessed as much. "Come on, we have to get out of here. I'm sure there'll be more demons coming looking for you."

She shot a scared look around her before quickly getting to his side and taking his forearm in her small hands and gripping it tightly. She almost seemed to have forgotten what had happened to her earlier.

With the girl stuck at his side, Cole went to his car and drove the two of them home. He didn't know what else to do. He couldn't just let her alone and fend for herself. With demons after her, she had no chance of surviving longer than she already had.

Half an hour later, the two of them found themselves in the elevator, on the way to Cole's penthouse. As soon as they had left the car, Cole had once again found himself with the girl attached to his arm. The hold she had on his arm tightened each time she saw someone approaching them. It was a relief for the both of them when the ding came and they arrived at their destination.

Cole guided her to the couch and went to put his briefcase away. He took the time to observe her again. She was sitting with her arms around herself and looking this way and that, eyes wide.

The girl was going to need some big help and he only hoped he would be enough. Well, he would have to since she already seemed attached to him as much as he was to her.

Cole went to the master bedroom and came out with a change of clothes, presenting them to the girl. "Here, you can go have a shower or even a bath and change into these."

The girl looked at him for a long moment and he almost thought she was going to refuse. She finally took the clothes in her arms after some consideration and stood up. Cole guided her to the bathroom and left her to it.

Assuming she would take some time, he went to work on how to make the apartment safe. It was something he had kept to himself but he had a way of protecting his home from intrusion, be it demonic or not. From now on, no demon, whitelighter or any magical being was going to be able to get into his home unwanted. This was as much for his protection as for the girl and anyone else who was going to live with him. This was a secret he had never disclosed to anyone, not even Phoebe.

He had always found it ridiculous how the rather arrogant Charmed Ones had never tried to find a way to do it for their own home. He was sure that as much as they complained about demonic attacks they had never tried to find a way to prevent them or even thought about it. Huh, maybe they were simply masochist or they enjoyed the attention, who knew.

Once his task was over, Cole set about making a little snack for himself and his guest. She must be hungry after everything she went through. Just when he finished setting the table, she emerged from the bathroom clad in some of Phoebe's pajamas. He frowned and considered the clothes. He'd have to send the rest of her things to the manor. He didn't want to have her barge in to ask for them or anything.

The girl still stood where she was and didn't dare to move from the spot. Cole took out a chair and with a sign of the head, invited her to sit. She accepted it shyly and Cole took the seat across from her.

Meal time was spent in silence. Cole didn't want to scare the girl into leaving so he waited for her to fill her stomach before starting the questions. When they were done, he washed the dishes while he sent her to the spare room to rest. He had a feeling she hadn't had any for a long time. They'd have plenty of time to talk later.

For the time being, he had work to do. He had had time to think it over when he was in the wasteland and when he came back. He had needed one last thing for the ritual to be complete and his researches were finally proved productive. Now, it was just a matter of when to put it into action. But before he could do that, he'd have to have everything sorted with his guest and see how long she would be staying with him.

* * *

A few hours passed and Cole had had some paperwork done. He did have to stop several times because the girl was screaming in her sleep, having some horrible nightmares. It was further proof that she had been through hell and for a long time. He would then need to keep an eye on her. That was the reason why he had moved his work to her room.

It was nice to know that for once someone needed him without looking to change him. The two of them were going to need each other: her for protection and him for a person to take care of and take his mind off the Halliwells. He made a vow to himself to help her no matter what and never judge her for her past. He had the power to help her and he was going to use it.

He looked at her to make sure she was still settled from her last nightmare before leaving to order dinner. He didn't know what her tastes were in term of food but he would bet anything that it wouldn't matter to her.

It was just when he was setting the dishes on the table that his guest came out of her room, for it was going to be hers from now on.

He turned to her. "Hey. I ordered Chinese. I hope you'll like it."

She nodded and came to take her seat at the table. She was less hesitant, an improvement on her part. That was good.

In the middle of their dinner, Cole decided it was time to make the introductions. "My name is Cole Turner. What's yours?"

The girl halted in her movements to look up from her plate. "Jessie."

Cole nodded. "Jessie. Is that short for Jessica?" She gave a nod in the positive. "That's a beautiful name." The compliment, plus the smile she received made the teen blush.

From there, Cole made small talk, asking simple questions to make her feel at ease. He learned quite a lot from the answers: she was fifteen and had been on the run for three. Being an orphan, she had gone from foster home to foster home before running away from the last one.

As far as she could remember, she had always been an outcast. The other kids had never liked her because weird things always happened around her. Although that only happened when she was upset or some of them picked on her.

Cole listened to her carefully. She was quite a talker once she got past her shyness. He was sure she had wanted someone to confide into for a long time. She must have felt so alone and scared all those years. But she was a fighter.

From what she was telling him, the demons' first attack coincided with the appearance of her powers. He had yet to learn what they were but that would be for later. First, he told her about himself, about magic and what it consisted of. He only told her the basics, intending to give her courses on magic and train her as time went by.

They talked well into the night, planning their future together. Well, Cole mostly did. He could envision exactly how he was going to go about helping her and getting her to have a normal life, well as normal as a life with magic could be, and that was going to start the next day, after they both had some sleep.

* * *

I know some of you wanted to know how Piper and Paige were going to save Phoebe but I couldn't come up with an original to portray it. However different I tried, it always ended looking like the scene with Cole so, I thought it wasn't worth it (I'm not really good at rewritting scenes).

Anyway, this story is mainly about Cole and although I will follow the episodes, I will only use scenes where he appears.

I thought the best way for Cole to demonstrate a life free of the Charmed Ones was to dedicate it on someone else, hence the new charcter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was a bright new day at the Halliwell manor and Paige and Piper were still discussing the worries the mother to be had about her magical pregnancy and what to expect from it when their sister came barging in.

"There you are!" Phoebe stopped in front of them, looking panicked. "Paige, did you ever make that vanquishing potion?"

The aforementioned witch frowned, at a total loss. "Vanquishing potion…"

"The one for Cole. You remember when I gave you that letter opener with his blood on it?"

"Right, vanquishing potion. Sorry, I didn't know you needed that right away. Do you?"

"Oh, if the nightmare I had last night turns out to be a premonition then yeah, big time. He had me back in the underworld as his queen!"

Piper got a word in. "Oh yeah, but you had that nightmare before."

"I've lived that nightmare before. We all have. But this time we have to be prepared." She was getting worked up on this. "Now he's got more powers than before and there's no telling how he's gonna come after me. You guys have to be really, really careful ok?"

"Wait, you think Cole's gonna try and kill us? That would not be exactly the best way to win you back."

"Yeah but it wouldn't be the first time he tried."

At Paige's remark, Piper turned persistent. "_He refused_. Your proper words, remember?"

"Yeah and I still think it's a trick."

The exchange confused the third party. "Hello… what's going on?"

Her sisters looked at each other, silently debating if they should tell her the news or not. Finally, Piper gave out an exasperated sigh before turning to the expectant Phoebe.

"When you were still a mermaid and refusing to come back, Paige went to Cole to try and convince him to talk to you, to help you change back."

Phoebe didn't see how that was relevant to the discussion. "He didn't come so obviously Paige didn't get a hold of him, probably because he was in the underworld plotting against us, so what?"

Paige twitched at that supposition, sure that Phoebe wasn't going to like the next part. "Actually, I did get a hold of him."

That didn't make any sense to Phoebe and the others could clearly see it. "Oookkaayy, what happened then?"

Piper hesitated, realizing she hadn't anticipated how she would take the news. "He refused to come to your help."

Phoebe laughed at the ridiculous assumption. "That is very funny. What really happened with Cole and what did you tell him exactly? I'm sure he just didn't understand the problem."

Paige winced at hearing the disbelief in Phoebe's voice. "I cast a spell on him to show him that you still love him and told him that's what made you want to stay a mermaid. For a moment I really thought he was going to accept but then he said no, that we had to do it ourselves."

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Trying to escape the scene, Paige offered to answer it by hastily orbing out of the attic.

Piper decided to take over where her coward of a sister had left off. "He's not going to come after us, Phoebe because he doesn't want anything to do with us."

Phoebe was rendered speechless by Piper's words, considering the absurdity in them. Her sister only looked at her, trying to gauge her reaction.

Paige orbed back into the room with two boxes at her feet and an envelope in her hand which she presented to Phoebe.

Phoebe frowned while accepting it and moving to open it. "What's all this?"

Paige shrugged. "I wish I knew. But they are addressed to you."

At hearing that, Phoebe put the envelope down, opting to open the boxes first. She took an athame from the table and cut the sticky tapes on the two before opening them, one box at a time.

Her sisters moved hurriedly to her sides when she gave a gasp at the first peek of the box's content. They had been ready to save her from some evil item but simply got confused when Phoebe took out some clothes she examined with a mix of expressions on her face.

Trying to make a sense to all of it, Paige, ever the snooper, went to examine the content of the other box. She didn't see anything of importance in it, some old bedside lamp, notebooks, even a teddy bear and other knick-knacks. She didn't know what this all meant but apparently Phoebe did.

"What's all this, Phoebe? Did you order from an antique shop or something?"

Phoebe shook her head of all the thoughts that were running through. "No. These-these are mine… All the things I had left at Cole's penthouse."

Piper shot Paige a look clearly saying I told you so but was waved off.

Not wanting to put any thought into the items and what this meant, Phoebe went back to the envelope, opening it with dread. The gasp that came this time was even more pronounced than the first. She staggered back and dropped on the couch behind her, her sisters quickly coming to her assistance.

"What is it, what does it say?"

Instead of replying to the insistent and worry laden questions, Phoebe, in a daze, gave the document to Piper to see for herself.

Piper too, seemed shocked at learning what it was and lifted her gaze to meet Paige's awaiting one. "It's the divorce papers."

"Really?" Paige ripped them from Piper's hands, skeptical. "Well, this is good, right?"

They turned their eyes to Phoebe, awaiting a reaction. "Yeah, I-I suppose."

"You suppose? Phoebe, you should be ecstatic, we should be celebrating. You're finally getting your freedom!"

Piper wasn't as ecstatic about this as Paige was. Sure she was happy that Cole was going to finally be out of their lives but she could understand why Phoebe wasn't jumping around the room in joy. As much as Cole had hurt her, it wasn't easy realizing that everything that happened between them was over.

She went to Phoebe. "I know it must be hard but I think this is for the best, for very one of us."

Phoebe was still out of it. This wasn't happening. Sure she had told him to stay away from her and her family but she couldn't understand what he was playing at, sending her her belongings and filing for divorce.

She frowned, finally voicing her concerns to her sisters. "I don't get what he's trying to pull with all this."

"Well, I think it's quite clear. You told him you didn't want anything to do with him and to stay away so, that's what he's doing. Apparently, he was quite serious when he said the same thing to Paige."

Paige pushed on when she heard that. "Actually, he said that he doesn't want us to take advantage of him anymore and to never bother him asking for help just to push him away afterwards. Ridiculous, really! But I still think he was lying."

Phoebe couldn't believe her ears. Surely, Paige had heard wrong. There was no way that Cole had refused to come to her rescue, Phoebe, the love of his life! That had never happened before and it was simply ludicrous. Then again, why hadn't he come when she had needed to be saved?

Phoebe shook her head, clearing her mind of everything else. "No, I think you're right, Paige. This is just a trick to get us to let our guard down. We have to be ready when he tries something. He's a demon!" She let out a breath to get it together. "Call me at work in case you get something, ok?" With that, she made a hasty retreat out the door of the attic.

Piper looked after her in worry while Paige got up to get to work on that potion. She wasn't sure things were going to get well for a long time.

* * *

As he had planned, Cole took Jessie shopping the very next day. Although she protested at the beginning, he quickly put a stop to it. It was the first step to their new life and he wanted to make it special. They spent hours at the mall, buying anything she needed or liked, taking care of not forgetting anything with the help of a list he had made beforehand.

Shopping for clothes had never been something Cole had liked but he took pleasure in seeing her face light up each time she tried something on. They spent all day there and only took a break for lunch. By the time they went back home it was late and Cole sent Jessie to her room to put her new things away while he ordered dinner. He was too tired to fix anything so this time, it would be pizza.

After taking care of her wardrobe, Cole had set about taking legal actions to make himself her guardian. That became a lot easier after he found her a good and prestigious school in town. She hadn't started yet, working first on her physical and mental health.

He also took great care of getting her up to date on the school program and encouraged her to do extracurricular activities, something to focus herself on and socialize with others of her own age. He didn't press her for anything, just giving her the advice she needed when necessary.

All of that took an entire month and Cole had had to put his other project on hold, but not anymore. Now that everything was settled with Jessie, he decided that he didn't have any more reasons to put it off any longer. Just a day away and he would finally have everything he had ever wanted, a family.

For now, he was waiting for Jessie to finish preparing herself for their night out. There was a charity fund-raising he needed to attend and he was going to bring her. It wasn't really an event for a teenager but she needed to get out and mingle with people to help her get over her shyness. It was going to be her first try out and he wanted it to be perfect, like a fairy tale every girl dreamt of.

When he thought of the last month, he couldn't actually remember the last time he had been so content. And he owed it all to Jessie. That girl had arrived in his life with perfect timing. He didn't know where he would be without her to keep him grounded to reality and he didn't even want to think about it.

When said girl finally made her appearance Cole looked up at her. She was much more different from the girl he had met a month before. In fact, once she had cleaned up, she was a beautiful young woman with her wavy hair floating behind her back and green eyes sparkling with delight. With her light blue gown, she was every bit the princess about to get to her ball for the night.

Cole gave her a smile. "You look beautiful."

She blushed at the prize. She still wasn't used to someone complimenting her in any way. "Thanks."

He shook his head, amused. "Are you ready to go?" He received a positive nod. "Good. Then let's head out." He went to the door and kept it open for her.

* * *

When Phoebe returned home later that day and found a suspicious looking box on the kitchen counter, she carefully opened it to see what the content was. She was sure she knew where or to be exact, who it came from and she had her proof when she found glass slippers in it.

She knew she shouldn't have fallen for the trick of that morning, she just knew it! She hastily made her way to the attic where she was sure to find the rest of the family and got another surprise in the form of her grandmother.

Once the greetings were made, Piper decided to get back to the matter at hand. "It's a long story and speaking of stories, a fairy tale just tried to slice our heads off."

Phoebe's face got pensive, piecing it all together. Yet another proof! "A fairy tale?"

"The woodsman, from Snow White."

She bent down to pick up the box. "Ok. Well, that would explain where these come from. Glass slippers. Cinderella's no doubt. Cole knows it's my favorite."

That came as a surprise for Piper. "Cole? You think _Cole_ is doing all this?"

"Who else has enough power to turn fairy tales against us? I told you he was gonna attack."

Grams cut through the duo. "Except, it was an evil witch who sent the woodsman in Snow White."

"I think I better go and check with Elders."

"I think you better." With his wife's approval, Leo orbed out to go with his plan.

As soon as Leo had disappeared, Phoebe took off her shoes, to the others' astonishment.

"What are you doing?"

"Proving that I'm right." She took the box of slippers, intent on putting them on.

But Paige didn't agree with that. "Eey! That's risky. You don't know what could happen."

"Well, I know that Cole wouldn't hurt me." After a brief pause, "Well, physically anyway." She took out one of the slippers.

"Well as much as I distrust him we don't know that it's him behind this."

"All the more reason to play along and find out who it is. We can't just sit around here and wait to be attacked."

"But she could get killed!" Paige turned to the usual voice of reason and caution who, until then had stayed mute. "Piper, a little support here?"

But the sister in question was torn. "Ah… if Grams thinks it's a good idea, who am I to disagree."

"Ok." Getting the go ahead, Phoebe went back to the slippers and put them on, under the others' watchful eyes. She stood in them, relieved. "See. No problem. I'm fine.

It seemed she had talked too fast when she suddenly found her appearance changed and ready to go to a party. The others laughed in amazement. "Actually, I'm better than fine."

But that didn't last either. Suddenly, Phoebe found her legs, or precisely the shoes having a mind of their own and leading her out of the room while her sisters tried to stop her.

"Where are you going? Where are you going?!"

"I don't know. I can't stop!"

"Well get out of them!"

"I can't!" Still, she went on, a sister on each arm. "The door, the door, the door!"

"Grams, what do we do?!"

"Just let her go. We are never going to be able to get to the bottom of this if you don't!"

The struggle at the threshold stopped when Piper and Paige finally let Phoebe go.

"Paige, follow her. Orb her out if she gets in trouble."

"She already is in trouble!"

"Help!" The call stopped Paige's incoming rant and she ran out to Phoebe.

"I'm gonna have to help you get ready to be a mother later. Right now, we've got to deal with evil witches!"

"Right." Piper made her way to the Book of Shadows.

"Oh, not that book." She stopped short and turned to her grandmother who had picked up something else. "This one."

* * *

Phoebe found herself in the entrance of a room she didn't know but was just glad the slippers had finally stopped dragging her around. It seemed it was because they had gotten her to her destination, if her surroundings were anything to go by.

Yep she was definitely at her ball. Although, she didn't know what to do with herself now that she was here so she just tried to mingle about.

"Phoebe, you came? I'm so glad."

She went to meet Adam Prince, for the second time that day. "Yeah. Well, I didn't really have much of a choice."

"You look… fabulous."

"Thanks."

"I just hope you're not here with someone else?"

"Oh no. I am definitely not here with someone else, even that someone else thinks I am."

The man looked confused by her strange statement. "I'm, sorry?"

She was about to add something else when she got a glance of her soon to be ex-husband.

* * *

Cole was having a great time that night. He met old and new people, some from work, others he had come to know through his work, both as an ADA but also as an employee of Jackman, Carter and Kline.

He showed Jessie around, answering any question she had and introducing her to everyone as his protégée. The more people she met, the more she came out of her shell and he was glad that his plan was working.

The only downside was that there weren't any people her age that she could hang out with. For that reason, he never left her side and always tried to include her in the conversations he had to participate on, not to get her bored out of her mind.

They were having a great time until the very last voice he had wanted to hear that evening came to his ears.

"Oh. Well, speak of the devil!"

Cole groaned inwardly. Things gad been going so great so far! He turned to face Phoebe and Adam Prince.

"Phoebe. What are you doing here?"

She put her hands on her hips. "As if you don't know?"

"Actually, I don't." He didn't elaborate, not really in the mood to listen to her arguments about how he was on some evil plan to get her.

"Listen, Cole. These boots may be made for walking but they'll never walk back to you, buddy."

"Boots?" He may be playing along but he was far from interested.

"You know what I mean." She shot a meaningful glance a t her feet and then back to him.

"Riiiight." The game was over. "Well, why don't you go and walk some more? Preferably far away from me. Thanks. Come on, Jessie. Let's go get something to drink."

With that said, Cole turned around and lead the girl at his side who Phoebe hadn't noticed until then, away from them.

Phoebe was positively fuming. That evil bastard! How dare he walk away when they hadn't finished talking? And to pretend that he didn't have anything to do with why she was here. He could deny it all he wanted but he couldn't fool her. She knew he was responsible and she was going to prove it.

And who was that girl he was with? Was he trying to make her jealous? She was just a teen for God's sake! Phoebe couldn't bear the thought of that poor girl being used by Cole and his stupid games. She would be fine if it was just her but that girl had nothing to do with this. She would have to talk to her as soon as she could get to her alone.

For now, she was going to get back at him for trying to make her jealous. She turned to Adam then and asked for a dance. She would show him jealous!

Meanwhile, the man of her thoughts was totally oblivious to her glaring eyes. Cole wasn't going to let Phoebe ruin Jessie's evening and he knew that's what would happen if he let her get to him. No, he left Phoebe where she was and far away from his mind.

He gave the teen a glass of soda. "Don't mind her. She likes to blame me for everything that's going bad in her life."

Jessie looked over his shoulder as he took a sip of his own glass. "So, that's Phoebe? Your ex-wife?"

"Yeah, that's her." He accompanied the response by a nod.

"I don't like her. She seems haughty!"

Cole laughed at that. "You're right. She usually is a good person but she and her sisters think that they know better than anyone else because of their powers. Their problem is that they think things are or black or white with no shades of grey."

Jessie frowned. "That's a bit dangerous. Especially if they want to have children: not teaching them tolerance could get them to take a bad turn."

Cole smiled at her words. She may be young but she was full of wisdom. She had to, having been forced to grow up too fast.

"I admit I may have something to do with that, having tried to kill them several times." He rushed to continue when she opened her mouth to interrupt. "I'm not excusing their behavior, far from it. I've admitted my mistakes, never tried to make excuses for them. But, they seem to think they are faultless. It's always someone else's fault for them, and they never try to understand that some things may be out of one's control."

"I don't get how she can be so insightful when it comes to others but won't do the same for you."

Cole shrugged. "That's Phoebe for you. She has a knack for running from her problems. I'll get over it."

"Yeah. Like I said, dangerous." They shared a laugh.

He put his glass down. "Well, enough talk about the Halliwells. Let's dance."

She panicked. "I don't know how to. I've never danced before."

"Doesn't matter, I'll teach you." He offered his hand. "Come on."

Jessie sighed in defeat. "Ok. But don't blame me when your feet are sore tomorrow!"

That made him laugh. "I promise not to."

The two of them made their way to the dance floor, oblivious to a pair of eyes watching their every move. Phoebe's eyes narrowed at Cole's interactions with the mysterious girl. It was becoming urgent that she talked to the girl.

* * *

She saw her chance when Cole left the girl to supposedly go to the restroom. Well, she wasn't going to waste it.

"Hey! Sorry but I didn't get your name earlier."

The girl turned to her, debating whether to give her name or not. After a moment, she deduced it wouldn't hurt. "Jessie."

"Jessie. Ok, listen. I think you should get away from Cole."

Jessie stopped short, giving her an incredulous look. "Excuse me?"

"He's dangerous. I don't know what he promised you but he's going to get you hurt, really bad."

Phoebe received a stare that made her feel uneasy. "Are you actually worried about me or are you just jealous that your ex-husband gives his attention to someone other than you?"

Phoebe startled. She hadn't expected that rebuke. "What? That's ridiculous! I just want you to be careful around him. Cole is evil!"

"Well, that's none of your business, is it? Now, if you'll excuse me."

Phoebe wasn't about to let the girl leave without warning her of the danger that was Cole. "Wait!" As soon as she touched her arm, Phoebe was hit with a premonition. She saw the girl, terrified on the floor with Cole standing over her, an energy ball on his hand.

She was thrown from the premonition when she felt a burning sensation on her hand. She cried out softly, letting go of the girl's arm in shock. She suddenly realized what the girl was and what the interest Cole had on her must be.

She lifted her gaze from her hand to find that the girl had taken advantage of that to take off. She was about to go after her when she got sight of Leo. Not having much of a choice, she went to her brother in law.

* * *

At his return from the restroom, Cole made his way to Jessie only to find her agitated, looking over her shoulder.

"Hey. What happened?"

"It's Phoebe. She came to me, asking me to stay away from you and how you were evil and all."

Cole's face hardened. "She did that?"

Jessie nodded. Although she had stood her ground with Phoebe and showed a brave face, she had been completely terrified of what the woman would do. She wasn't quite ready for anyone but Cole taking an interest in her and the kind that Phoebe had was anything but welcome. Not to mention it had nothing to do with her. She had seen right through the woman's intentions.

Cole could see the change in her. He was furious with Phoebe. In only a few minutes, she had managed to undo a month's worth of hard work on both his and Jessie's part.

He didn't get what she was playing at. She asked for a divorce and space and when he gave them to her, she was practically harassing him. Well, he wasn't going to let her get away with this.

After making sure she was alright, Cole left her at a nearby table, away from prying eyes. "I'll be right back."

Determined and angry, Cole moved instinctively to where Phoebe was and found himself outside the building. He stood there, watching things unfold and saw the woman he was looking for get transformed into a pumpkin.

He had suspected something was wrong with the man but only decided to intervene when he moved to smash the pumpkin onto the ground.

"Put it down!" The man turned to him, the fruit still in his hands, above his head. "Gently!"

"I can't." He struggled not to continue with his task. "The witch will kill me!"

"So will I." He tried to smash it again and Cole could understand why he hadn't yet. "You don't wanna hurt her."

But the man lost the fight and threw the pumpkin onto the ground with a grunt.

Cole waved his hand and Prince and the fruit froze in place. He approached them and picked up the pumpkin, examining it in him hands.

"Oh. What am I gonna do with you?" He was tempted to get revenge on some way but he simply couldn't. At last, he settled for unfreezing the man before him and punching him in the face.

That'd be enough steam let off for now. He had a pumpkin to take home, against his will.

* * *

Cole faded into the Halliwells' attic where he was sure to find someone that could take care of the problem he had in his hands. Sure enough, he was met with Piper, her husband and grandmother.

At their looks, he motioned to the fruit. "Your sister." That's all he said, not willing to explain further. It wasn't his fault if they always found themselves into this kind of trouble.

"Oh my…"

"What are we going to do now?"

Piper had her hands on her hips. "Well, we do what we were going to do in the first place. We find the witch who did this and vanquish her."

"Do you at least know how to find her?" It was just curiosity on his part.

"No."

"Well, good luck with that. I'm sure you'll work something out." He was shot angry looks but ignored them and approached Piper. "Here, take your sister. There's someone that needs me."

"We need your help here!"

Cole shook his head. "Nope. I'm evil, remember. Your sister made a big mess with a friend of mine and I need to make it right." He clapped his hands together. "So, gotta go, ciao!"

He left three jaws hitting the floor at his departure. None of them could understand what was going on with this new Cole but they didn't have time to ponder it. They had an evil witch to vanquish and sisters to save.

* * *

The next day, Cole rode the elevator down to go to work. He was only going in for half the day and then come back home for his final task. It was early and Jessie was still sleeping her big night off.

After getting pumpkin Phoebe back to the manor, he had gone back to the party to make things right for Jessie. Luckily, it hadn't been hard and they had gone back to how they were before the whole ordeal with Phoebe. Overall, it had been a nice evening out for the both of them.

As he came across his car, he once again got a surprising and unwelcomed visit. He sighed, frustrated. "It's too early for this, Phoebe."

"I came to talk to you, but the doorman wouldn't let me in."

"Well, there's a good reason for that. I told him that all of you Halliwells were to be denied access to the building."

Phoebe got the shock of her life at that. "What? Why?"

"Because I don't want you to come barging in my home asking something or other. You want me to stay away, it goes both ways. Now, what did you want? I have to go to work."

She dropped her gaze on the pavement before meeting his again. "I wanted to say I'm sorry for accusing you of what was going on yesterday."

"You have to understand one thing, Phoebe: the world doesn't revolve around you or your sisters. At least, for me it doesn't anymore. There are more people in this city than the three of you and I have better things to do than playing hide and seek with you."

"Why did you save me from Adam then?"

The challenge was clear in her voice but Cole wasn't going to take the bait. "Because contrary to your belief, I just don't stand aside when someone is about to get killed."

"When you met us, you knew from the beginning that he was evil. Why didn't you warn me? It could have saved us a lot of trouble."

"Would you have believed me?" Her silence told him all he needed to know. "You got your answer then. Besides, it only takes someone to wrong you a little for you to deem them evil."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Phoebe that in your world, the people you come to know all have a good chance of getting possessed or hexed and if that's synonymous to evil for you, then I feel sorry for you because at the rate you're going, you'll end up becoming that bitter woman you met a few month ago."

"Hey, that's not really nice. And it's your fault if I'm like this."

Cole sighed at the mantra. "Did you have something else to say, Phoebe?"

"Actually, I do." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I want you to leave that poor girl alone."

Now that was something new. "What girl?"

"Jessie. I know you pulled all these tricks about the divorce and my things to get to me but it won't work. Leave the poor girl out of this! I don't want her to end up dead because of you."

"No. _You_ listen, Phoebe. And listen carefully: _you_ leave Jessie alone and don't get your big nose in my business. You come up with a stint like the one you pulled yesterday and try to scare her off again, you won't like the consequences!"

He gave her those parting words and drove off in his car. Phoebe was left standing on the pavement, her mouth hanging open in total bewilderment. What was going on here? Had the world gone mad or something? She was left shaken by the threat. Cole had never threatened her!

* * *

Cole came back home to Jessie almost jumping on him in giddiness.

"Is it time yet? You said you would do it today. It's so exciting. I can't wait for him to be here!"

He laughed at the teen. "Calm down. I can't wait either but we better be careful so I don't get anything wrong."

She stopped her jumping and pouted. "Ok."

"Now, let me put my things down and then we can get started." He went to his room and came out ten minutes later changed in jeans and a t-shirt. "Ok. Now we can start!"

Jessie's face blossomed into a big smile at hearing the words. She squealed, quite loudly, and jumped on Cole for a bone crushing hug.

They then moved to the living room where, with a wave of his hand, Cole had an assortment of objects appear on the table before them. He had everything he needed for what looked to Jessie like a very complicated ritual.

The teen looked on, not trying to understand what he was doing far less interrogate him for fear of distracting him. She recognized the final step when Cole took an athame and made a large gash on his hand, letting the blood drip into the mixture he already had. Smoke took over the room as soon as the contact was made.

Cole and Jessie struggled to see through the fog, coughing smoke. They stopped short when soft cries made their way to their ears. They followed the sound and the fog cleared to the most beautiful sight they had ever seen. There, lying on the towel spread on the floor lay a baby boy.

They stood over, staring at the baby in awe. Cole finally bent down and picked him up, cradling him in his arms. The baby stopped crying instantly and stared up at Cole.

Jessie approached them slowly. "He's so beautiful!" She put a finger in his little chubby hand and was delighted when he squeezed it. "What are you going to call him?"

Cole still hadn't taken his gaze off the baby. "Benjamin. Benjamin Coleridge turner."

Jessie got a pensive look. "How old is he? And people are going to ask questions about him. How are we going to explain everything?"

"You don't have to worry about that. I have a handy power that'll enable me to make them all think that I already told them about Ben. They'll simply think that that's why I've been missing for four months; I have the paper work taken care of for my five-month-old son. Everything is under control, believe me."

"Cool! Can I hold him?"

"Sure. In the meantime, I'm going to get his bath ready and then feed him. He must be hungry."

"Ok." While Cole left for the bathroom, Jessie cooed at the baby. Cole was pleased to see that they were completely taken with each other.

Cole prepared the bath and the clothes for his son while thinking of his little trip to the underworld. The only positive thing about it was his encounter with his son. He was the major reason for his determination to get out of there. He hadn't wanted him to spend even a minute more in the hell that was that place. It was in no way suitable for a soul as young as his son. He didn't deserve it.

So, he had escaped with the little soul safely tucked in a crystal ball and waited for the right moment to get him in the flesh. The little guy deserved a chance at life. He hadn't asked for anything and shouldn't be punished for his parents' mistakes.

So here he found himself as happy as he could ever be.


End file.
